


A Reciprocal Situation

by rubrikate



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Cuddling, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-08-02 08:57:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16302083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubrikate/pseuds/rubrikate
Summary: af·fec·tionnoun: a gentle feeling of fondness or liking."he felt affection for the Symbiote"





	A Reciprocal Situation

_ Eddie, Eddie we’re bored. _

The voice in his head wasn’t a shock anymore; harsh yelling and dark scramblings had slowly turned into soft whispers and gentle reassuring words. Arms being pinned to walls and his body being used like a ragdoll had been replaced with the lightest of caresses and the tamest of movements. Eddie opened his eyes to the TV blaring abysmally onward: he had fallen asleep. 

_ Eddie, we’re hungry.  _

Eddie rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees; his feet flat on the dirty wooden floors of his apartment. He drew in a breath, letting it out with a sigh, “Fine, what do you want? You want some tater tots?” 

_ Not that kind of hungry, Eddie. We want to play. _

He rolled his eyes, chuckling to himself in defeat, “Again? Really?” He flopped backwards against the couch, his head rolling back against the cushions, his eyes closed. Distantly below him the sounds of cars driving past could be heard, the tires skating by on the wet roads. The soft tinkling of the rain against the windows echoed through the small apartment. Venom was silent, but Eddie could feel something stirring deep inside. 

_ Don’t you like it when we play, Eddie?  _

The voice bubbled up to his mind, it was a gentle whisper, quietly probing for a response. Eddie shook his head, eyes still closed, head against the cushions, “I-” he stood up quickly and began to walk over to the window, looking down at the cars, “I do”, he whispered. He had enjoyed it, physically, very much, but there was a chasm somewhere between physical pleasure and emotional pleasure. He felt warm tendrils start to caress his right forearm; he pulled away. The tendrils snapped back. 

_ Then what’s the problem?  _

He squinted his eyes shut, shaking his head, running an idle right hand through his dirty, unkempt hair, “It’s always you doing it to me, you know? I always get, I never,” he paused, biting his lip in thought before blurting out, “I never give. Not anymore.” 

_ Give?  _

There was confusion, a disarray of emotions, a scurrying for understanding, something thrashing in wonder. Eddie ran a hand over his chest, like he might physically feel it, as though he was trying to comfort Venom: trying to give, “Yeah you know, give and take, a two way street. I give, you take. You give, I take. But all I ever do is take. It feels weird after a while.” He shook his head, “It feels wrong somehow.” Silence. Venom was silent and still. Eddie continued to look out the window, watching more cars drive past. Noticing the way the raindrops slid down the window, the night sky eating up all the city lights. A couple under an umbrella walked by beneath him, he watched them as they walked in the rain: shoulder to shoulder, arm-in-arm, talking closely. He let out a sigh. 

_ You want what they have?  _

Eddie nodded, “Yes, I want that. I miss that.” He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand as he watched the couple under the umbrella until they were out of sight, around the corner. He sighed, pressing his hot forehead to the glass of the cool window. It felt great. He closed his eyes again. 

_ What is it that they have? The water repellent device?  _

Eddie laughed, then drew in a sharp breath, running his tongue over his teeth as he thought, “Affection, we call it. But yeah, they do have an umbrella as well.” 

_ Affection. How does one affection? _

Eddie sighed again, his hot breath fogging up the window, “Just, you know, like little things. Like holding hands, or,” he gestured to where the couple on the street had been, “walking arm-in-arm or sharing an umbrella, hugs, sharing food, cuddling, things like that.” 

_ What is cuddling, Eddie?  _

“It’s like, just holding each other while you watch TV, it’s really simple. Just a little thing.” He rolled his eyes as he spoke, smiling to himself. It was hard to explain these things, they were simple things, but the amount of things Venom didn’t know always amazed Eddie. He always forgot, it felt like Venom should know these things because he knew these things. It was complicated; Eddie sighed, “So, yeah, giving. I never give and after a while it gets old, always taking. Feels kind of empty.” His voice was small, as though admitting that would somehow break him. 

_ How would you give, Eddie?  _

Eddie chuckled to himself, prying his face off the cold glass and walking away, “I dont know, I don’t even know how you really work, biologically.” His voice was low; he spoke with his hands as he walked slowly over to the refrigerator, opening the door idly and staring into the depths of it. Its bright white light bathing him for a moment in sterile normalcy. There wasn’t much to eat: some eggs, almost no milk, an empty plastic case of what was once strawberries. He shut the door with a resounding  _ clunck _ . Rubbing his eyes one more with his hands, he didn’t bother to stifle the yawn that crawled up out of him. Venom was silent and still within him again. No stirrings, no thoughts, nothing. Eddie rubbed the palm of his hand against his chest as he padded into the bathroom and flicked on the lights. One of the light bulbs above the sink flickered for a moment, as though threatening to go out. 

Eddie took his time with Venom’s silence. He brushed his teeth and washed his face, he stared at himself in the poorly lit mirror, shadows flickering off and away as he moved. He turned the lights off, exiting the room and heading for the bedroom, leaving the TV to blare endlessly in the living room. In Venom’s silence, Eddie flopped down on his back, onto the bed in the dark. The cool sheets felt so nice against his skin. He was always hot these days. But with the fan on in this room, and the window open, it was better in here. The lower temperature was soothing and the silence was comforting, Eddie started to melt into the bed.

That was when he felt it. The strong stirring, the movement, the heat, something was building up and coiling inside him: Venom was busy. Eddie kept his eyes closed, ignoring it, pretending not to notice. But he knew that wouldn’t work, it never did. Venom saw and felt and  _ knew _ everything. Before he saw it, he felt Venom wrapping around him, enveloping him, cradling him almost. Eddie coasted a hand upwards, running along Venom's exposed exterior; it rippled under his touch. This had been something Eddie had been experimenting with, touching Venom, seeing if it was like a person; trying to give. A small grin spread across Eddie's face at the soft rippling, his eyes still closed, he sighed into Venom's physical presence. Relaxing. This was relaxing. Venom was warm. 

_ You enjoy this.  _

“Yeah, it's nice.” Eddie’s eyes were closed, he was being lulled to sleep. He knew he’d be asleep soon. 

_ Nice?  _

“Yeah, like, comfortable? Relaxing, would be a better word, I think.” Eddie’s voice was low. 

_ Is this like affection? Like giving and cuddling?  _

Eddie’s eyes opened, he stared upwards at the white eyes of Venom, hovering above him, very close. They stared at one another for a moment, Venom cocking his head, waiting for a response. Eddie gave a smile, reaching up, he let his hand run down the side of Venom’s face. The rippling was there again, Eddie smiled. 

_ You are thinking.  _

“Yeah, I guess this is like affection and cuddling.” His voice was barely above a whisper now. 

_ And not taking?  _

“No, thats like a two-”

_ A two way street, yes, we discussed this, Eddie.  _

Eddie smiled again, he felt his eyes closing. Venom was curling around him now, keeping him warm despite the open window letting in the rain chilled breeze; Eddie didn’t need any blankets now, not with Venom here. He rolled over onto his side, resting his head into the crook of his elbow, his eyes shut, "Goodnight, Venom." He whispered into the darkness, shifting himself down further into Venom's warm embrace. He felt a deep rumbling, almost like purring, all around him. 

_ We enjoy this.  _

Eddie hummed in agreement. 


End file.
